Iowa’s Cory Clark set for marquee matchup when Ohio State comes to town

IOWA CITY — The 133-pound landscape in college wrestling has become a little blurry.

With many of the higher-ranked wrestlers in the class beating each other, Ohio State's unbeaten Nathan Tomasello has become a clear No. 1 at the moment. Iowa's Cory Clark has a chance to make things fuzzier and reclaim that top spot.

'He's on a mission,' Clark said of Tomasello. 'I'm also on a mission. It should be a good one.'

The pair will face off for the first time when third-ranked Iowa hosts No. 4 Ohio State Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, beginning at 7. The dual is Iowa's third against a top-four ranked foe, suffering two straight losses to top-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 2 Penn State.

Iowa fans are familiar with Tomasello, who wrestled the Hawkeyes' top-ranked 125-pounder Thomas Gilman in previous seasons. Clark (10-1) is quite familiar with Tomasello (10-0), even though they have never stepped on the mat together.

'It's just another opponent, but there's an exclamation point on it,' said Clark, who was top-ranked until a one-point loss to Oklahoma State's No. 3 Kaid Brock on Jan. 15. 'He's proved he's solid and he's got good fundamentals. He can wrestle.'

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said the matchup could be described as a contrast in styles. They share an ability to create action.

'Tomasello is straightforward. Maybe you can classify him as that,' Brands said. 'Clark may be a little bit more (of a scrambler), but both guys wrestle hard.

'We have to be ready to wrestle seven minutes. We will be.'

Gilman owns a 2-1 edge over Tomasello, pinning him in the 2016 NCAA semifinals. They haven't compared notes on how to approach the match.

'There's nothing to be said,' Gilman said. 'It's no different from if he goes out and wrestles the way he needs to wrestle and knows how to wrestle he'll beat him.

'There's no secret formula.'

Clark, a three-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist, missed about a month with a shoulder injury. He is 3-1 since his return and fresh off a 19-4 throttling of Penn State's George Carpenter last Friday. He said he continues to make strides, feeling closer to the point of wrestling an entire match focused and at a high level.

'I've been training hard,' Clark said. 'Each day getting better and improving from the tie off that I had. Still working to get better and better.'

The Buckeyes (8-0, 4-0) expect to have seven ranked wrestlers without NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder, who is competing overseas in Russia.

Iowa NCAA runner-up Brandon Sorensen has lost two straight decisions in overtime, wrestling the maximum 11 minutes in each. He will face his third straight unbeaten opponent, taking on fifth-ranked Micah Jordan (21-0). Sorensen was hard at work in the practice room this week.

'We've never doubted him,' Brands said. 'He's going to have another test. I'd say he's up for it.'

Iowa's Alex Meyer is coming off a 7-5 victory over highly-touted freshman and Junior World Champion Mark Hall. He could face top-ranked Bo Jordan (8-0) at 174.

'I'm excited,' Meyer said. 'It's a big match.'

The Hawkeyes (7-2, 3-1 Big Ten) will look to rebound from two consecutive setbacks where they combined for just six victories. Brands said the team is set on moving forward.

'The two that just happened, that's over with,' Brands said. 'We learn from it. We keep moving.'

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